The Path Not Taken
by The Phantom Belcher
Summary: A one-shot, set at the end of Chapter 2 of the Jedi Knight story in SWTOR. Deviates from the established continuity early on.


**This is my first piece of writing for this site, following an idea of "What if, after being freed from the Emperor's domination, the Jedi Knight found him- or her-self unable to reconcile the inner darkness that the Emperor brought forth with the Jedi way. Would s/he choose to remain Jedi, or follow the darker path to the Sith. SWTOR does not permit you to torture Kira; the dark side choice is to kill the Pureblood Sith overseeing the Knight's Sith training.**

 **I actually do not have a character on any of the servers named "Arie Falm". The name comes from my main KOTOR2 Jedi Exile.**

* * *

Memories flowed through Arie Falm's mind: She remembered kneeling on a metal floor in meditation, dark anger flowing around her as her blue lightsaber crystal was replaced by a red one. She remembered dancing through a prison killing helpless victims, their screams of mercy falling on deaf ears as her crimson blade mutilated them. She remembered the feeling of life being snuffed out of a man choking in mid-air as she squeezed her hand in front of him, the sound of his neck bones cracking; the feel of her foot against a woman's face, and the crunch of her victim's nose breaking, the cartilage flying right into the brain. She felt like she should feel shame and sadness at the images, but instead her heart seemed to race; the sight of Kira and Doc writhing in agony on torture racks as she eagerly increased the electricity running through them. Was this _anticipation_?, she wondered. Each memory she viewed showed her committing another atrocity, and each one made her _want_ to do more.

 _No_ , she thought, _this is not the way of the Jedi._

 _But are you really a Jedi after all this?_ The question surprised her, and she found she had no answer.

"You've been under the Emperor's control for some time," the disembodied voice of Arie's old master told her, "but you're free now."

Anger swelled in the young light blue Twi'lek's heart. "I'll kill him," she told him softly. The idea surprised her a bit, but the emotions and sensations, the anger and hate, accompanying the statement felt _right_ , more right than the mercy she'd shown in the past.

"Don't give in to hate," the ghost reminded her. "You're still in the Emperor's fortress, surrounded by enemies who don't know you're free. Anger here will destroy you." She reflexively scoffed inward at that. "Your dark ally will help you."

"Dark ally?" Arie asked, confused. "Who is that?" Her old master did not answer, though another, sterner voice spoke up.

"Quit muttering to yourself acolyte," a Sith Pure-blood in overseers robes reprimanded her as he approached. "Today we're going to once again try and extract information from one of the scum you arrived with, to break her."

Arie's heart raced; her lekku twitched. "I'm looking forward to it," she said. The thought surprised her; she actually _was_ looking forward to it. The thought of torturing Kira - torturing _anyone_ , really - was making her antsy. "I'm sure you've seen I'm a natural at inflicting pain."

"Indeed you are," the overseer agreed. He led her down a corridor and through a room, one Arie realized she knew well. A row of surgical and torture tables lined one wall, all of them leaned to prop their victims mostly upright, while in the center of the room was a monitor station. A young auburn-haired woman, roughly the same age as Arie and dressed in tattered Jedi robes, was strapped to one of the tables. _Kira_ , Arie thought. Emotions flooded through her: shame at the memories of torturing her in the past, anger at the Emperor and the whole situation for putting Kira in this position, anger at Master Braga for underestimating the Emperor's power, pride at how strong Kira held up, and, she had to admit, excited at the prospect of inflicting more torture on Kira . . . on anyone.

"As you recall, the Tormentor has three inducement settings, each one inflicting greater pain on the subject," the overseer reminded Arie. She nodded. "The device monitors the victim's vitals, stopping short of delivering _lethal_ damage."

"And how is our victim today?" Arie asked Kira. "Are you ready for another session?"

"I know you're in there!" Kira pleaded, tears in her eyes. "If I could break free of his hold, you can, too."

"Not this again," the overseer muttered. "Go ahead and use the lowest setting, to get the victim focused."

 _Moment of truth_ , Arie thought to herself. _I can fool the overseer; he won't know the difference. I could mind-trick him, or kill him. Bastard probably deserves it._ She hesitated, her hands hovering over the controls. _I'm free; I could free her . . . but is it **really** freedom? Return to the Jedi? The Order who see me only as a blade to use against the Empire? The Order who may never fully trust me again for what I've already done, even if they somehow forgive me?_ She paused in mid-thought. _No. I can't go back. I'm too far gone to remain a Jedi. I'd kill the self-righteous Council barehanded in a gorak's heartbeat. Might as well accept it._

Slowly, she turned one of the knobs and flipped a switch. Electricity crackled on the table as Kira arched her back in pain. _I'm sorry, my friend_ , she thought, but then realized something. _No, I'm_ not _sorry. I_ want _to see you suffer._ She grinned evilly as she watched Kira writhe in pain. After a few minutes the Tormentor ended its cycle.

"Now, my old friend," Arie nearly purred as she sashayed over to her victim, "you know what we want. Tell me: do you hate me?"

"No," Kira panted, "I pity you."

"Wrong answer!" Arie called, reaching out with the Force and flipping the Tormentor on again. Four more times Arie asked the question, and each time Kira answered with an impassionate answer. Arie decided to increase the power all the way, skipping the middle setting. The sound of Kira's screams were music to her ears. She could feel the girl's anger growing; all it needed was a push.

"Who _do_ you hate?" Arie asked suddenly.

"The Emperor, for turning you into this!" Kira hissed.

"No," Arie said after a moment's consideration, "there is someone you hate more, even though you refuse to admit it. Someone you fantasize of killing." She leaned in and whispered in Kira's ear, "Is it a fellow Jedi? Maybe one, like you, who used to be Sith?"

"No," Kira replied quickly, perhaps a little too quickly.

" _De- **NI** -al!_" Arie sang as she flipped the switch on the Tormentor again.

Kira shook uncontrollably as a blood-curdling scream erupted from her mouth. "PRAVEN!" Kira suddenly shouted out in mid-scream.

"That's what I thought," Arie said with an evil smile as the Tormentor finished that cycle of induced pain. She turned to the overseer. "I have a plan, Overseer, if you would care to hear it. Elsewhere," she concluded.

Kira lay back against the table, sobbing softly. Arie reached out and gently caressed the scar on Kira's cheek. "By the way, Kira," she whispered in the other woman's ear, "I _am_ free of him. I _chose_ to torture you. I enjoyed it as much as you hated it."

Kira's eyes went wide. "But... why?"

Arie scoffed. "Because I _wanted_ to!"

Defeated, Kira was left on the table, openly crying for the loss of her friend to the Sith.

* * *

As Arie and the Overseer left the chamber, they were met by a towering bald pure-blooded Sith in ancient black armor.

"Lord Wrath," the Overseer greeted him. Arie bowed to him in the Sith manner, right hand on her left breast.

"Acolyte. Overseer," Lord Scourge, the Emperor's Wrath, said with a nod. "The Emperor wishes to see this acolyte. Now. _Alone._ "

"Of course," the Overseer replied. Arie turned to face the Wrath, then fell into step behind him as he led her into a lift.

"You are free of his domination," Lord Scourge mentioned after the door slid closed. "Yet you chose to torture your fellow Jedi." It was not a question, but there was a question left unspoken.

"I imagine it would be too much to presume that the Emperor would be unaware of my free will returning," Arie said with a small sigh.

"Indeed. And yet, you did not take the chance to escape when it presented itself."

"No," she agreed. "I am free to choose my own allegiances now."

"You _choose_ to help the Emperor? Are you aware of what he plans?"

"No," Arie replied. "I choose to remain Sith. If my memories of my time under his domination are any indication, I was a much better Sith than I ever was a Jedi." She turned and looked him right in the eye. "He showed me the darkness inside, the power I could have. I want that power. I want _more._ "

"Even if the galaxy burns?" Scourge asked her, eyeing her with a new-found respect... and Arie thought she felt a touch of fear from him.

Arie laughed, her laughter sounding cold and harsh where it once had been light and cheerful. "Is that what he plans? Why tell me?"

Before Scourge could answer, the lift opened. In the exact center of the top deck of the Emperor's space station, the immortal Emperor, founder and leader of the Sith Empire, reclined on his throne which hovered twenty feet above the floor. Scourge and Arie left the lift and knelt before him, heads bowed.

"Rise, acolyte," the Emperor commanded. His voice seemed to come from all around, rather than from him. Arie stood up. "You are free of me," the Emperor continued. "I foresaw this; it was inevitable. I expected you to take your friends and leave, along with your new ally." Arie couldn't be sure, but she felt as though those last three words were directed at Lord Scourge. "Yet here you are, a Jedi in front of the Sith Emperor."

"No Jedi stands before you, my Lord Emperor," Arie stated, bowing. "I choose the power of the Dark Side. I _choose_ to serve the Empire. I _choose_ to be _Sith_."

"Prove it to me." He gestured to one side. Two red-robed Imperial Guardsmen half-carried, half-dragged a man, the irascible Doc Kimball, the medic from Arie's crew and her secret lover, into the chamber. No other words were spoken as Doc was thrown at Arie's feet.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, gorgeous," Doc quipped, pulling himself to his hands and knees while looking up at her. Arie stood over him, her eyes starting to tear up. "Wait, are those tears? Are you... are you free?"

"Everyone wants to know that," she said. "Yes, yes I am free of him." She lowered her hand to her lightsaber. "That's what makes this hurt so much."

"What do you...?" He stopped as Arie ignited the saber. Its crimson blade glowed brightly in the dim light of the throne room. "Oh, lover, please. Please, no. _**NO!**_ " Doc's final scream ended as Arie swung her blade around, deftly beheading him. His head rolled to a stop not far away, the expression of shock, disbelief, and betrayal forever frozen on his face. A single tear fell from her face and landed on the steel floor.

With a grunt, she kicked his body with her full strength across the floor, hearing it impact on the far wall.

"Well done, Acolyte Falm," the Emperor said after the silence had become almost unbearable. To Arie's surprise, the Emperor stood up in his chair. "You were born to be Sith, that much is clear. Lord Scourge, arrange for her to take her final trials on Korriban."

"As you wish, my Lord Emperor." Scourge's voice betrayed no emotion.

"Once you are confirmed as Sith," the Emperor continued, "you will be Scourge's apprentice. I sense he desires you."

"As you command, my Lord Emperor," Arie replied with a Sith-style bow. _Korriban!_ she thought. _Not unexpected._ In a flash, she recalled the vision relayed by the Zabrak Jedi Jomar Chul: _"You stood on the red sands of Korriban. Your eyes were cold. Alien. Sith."_ She grinned as she realized none of her memories under the Emperor's control were from the ancient Sith world. Jomar's vision hadn't yet come true.

"What of the rest of her crew?"

"My Child will return to her place at my side with your apprentice's help," the Emperor explained. "Have the alien disposed of and the droids reprogrammed." He sat down and suddenly went silent; Arie could feel as though it was his spirit had left his body completely. Arie and Scourge both returned to the lift.

As the lift door slid shut, Scourge told her, "He knows I want to destroy him."

"He has that way with people," Arie quipped.

"You are the one destined to destroy him," he told her. "For three hundred years I thought the one I sought, the one whose face came to me in a dream, was a Jedi. I realize now the Force has a cruel sense of humor, as it has chosen another Revan."

"I don't care," Arie replied coldly. "It doesn't matter whether I'm Jedi, Sith, or something else, I'll annihilate him. Vengeance _will_ be mine."

"You were right, my future apprentice," Scourge told her. "You are already a far greater Sith than you ever could be as a Jedi."

"Thank you, my master," Arie replied, bowing her head. _And one day,_ she thought, _I'll kill both Scourge and the Emperor and claim the throne myself._


End file.
